Boat, seaplane, and the like



Jan. 16, 1945.

A. AI APEL 2,367,323

BOAT, SEAPLANE; AND THE LIKE Filed July 15, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 J m.m, 1945. A, A. APEL 2,367,323

' V BOAT, SEAPLANE, AND THE LIKE Filed July 15, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 3/I C I f* F43 kw Jan; 16, 1945. APEL. 2 ,367,323

' BOAT SEAPLANE AND THE LIKE Filed July 15, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 WJar/20411 PatentedJan. 16, 1945 UNITED "STATES PATENT, QFFICE.

BOAT; SEAPLANE, AND THE Arno Apel, Ventnor City, N. J.

Application July 15; 1943, Serial No. 494,3 3

' 11 Claims. (o1. 114-665) My invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in boats and more particularly to a boat that is cap-ableof extremely high speed and especially adapted for racing. a

Still another object of the invention is to prosize than a'racing boatand which may be usedas a fiyingboat and/or glider. In both instancesWhetherthe hull is used as a small racing craft or made in larger sizesand adapted fora "flying boat-hull or glider, the principles involvedare identical; 9 v

Another of the'objects of the invention is to provide an especiallydesigned hull so that the bottom offers'relatively small resistance, andtheefficiency and speed of the hull will be comparatively high ascompared with the ordinary displacement boat, hydroairplane or glider;

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hull of the typecommonly used in seaplanes or flying-boats and gliders, and has foranother object, enabling of the craft to risequickly from the water witha maximum load.

Still another object of the invention is to produce a hull that issimilar in its broadest aspects to the hull shown in the patent-grantedto Adolph E; Apel and the presentapplicant; Arno A. Apel #2,126,-304of'August 9, 19-38.

In the patent just above mentioned, however, stabilizers are positionedat the bOW-o-f the boat and extend about amidships.

I; have found that it sometimes happens in construction will be retainedwithzthe'addedad' vantage that in case the boat 'issides'wiped orfouled, the likelihood of dama e to these stabilizers or runnersisvgreatly reduced. 1

Also in the patent'heretofore mentioned, the stabilizers terminate aboutamidships of the'hoat while in thepresent construction vthevstabilizersI r or runners extend substantially throughout the length of the'boatterminating just ahead of the stern so that the three-points of supportwith all itsiadvantases-is etainedlwitha iurt e renvide a boat which maybe made in a much larger ta e that there is less possibility of airescaping from beneath the bottom'of the boat before it has reached thestern, r

St l a h r ob ect o t e n ention i 0 pr vide a boat which when runningat high speed either in the form of, a racing boat or a'hydroairplanehull 0r glider Will besupported along the stabilizers or runners and onthe stern thus taking d n ag of air-li t to great y r duc the hihric ione hg the v ength Fi th? kiwi-99ttom. 7

ill ano her o ect 9f the hvehti h i to proicle a, h ll with u h reer siliz rs o m d ir y beneath t e hull rathe t en on h Si es ther of and li-rm e'tesulteh t nne t u h o m hich may e of t e in ert d -i n o racinga boat of this-construction that "if it is slightly concave, the bottomof the hull flattening r a p t beh nd the WW to a pe e t flat stem, therunners or stabilizers also decreasing depth fr m a po ht behi d the b the te 7 Still another object of the invention is to proe a h h vin voncave be em ou h or tunnel or an inverted V.-botton1 trough or tunneltween-the runners "or stabilizers to thus provide ri t ne th, the h lStill another object of the invention is to pro-l vide a boat whereinitdesired the stabilizers or runners may entirely encircle the bowrather than starting at a point just behind the forward end, f the b w aw t these and other ob ect n View, t i vention consists in certain newand novel tar.-

. nee ents andembinet q Q arts a i l be i is e mgremmafieseetimfl vi wtake Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic sectional wview taken Fig. 6 is adiagrammatic sectional View taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic sectional View taken on line 'l-! of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a-diagrammatic sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing a slightly modified form of bottomwherein the trough or channel is slightly concave rather than of aninverted V-shape;

Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the hull showing a slight modificationwherein the runners or stabilizers encircle the bow; and

Fig, 11 is a View taken from the bow of Fig. 10.

Referring now more specifically to the several views and for the momentto Fig. 1, there is diagrammatically shown my new and improved boat,seaplane or glider wherein C represents the keel line which dropsslightly throughout its length and terminates at about the point Cbeneath the stern. There may also be seen the approximate water line WLand it will be understood that this is the approximate water line whenthe hull is at rest. Of course, when the craft is running on the water,the water line will be lower.

Still referring to Fig. 1, there may be seen the outer chine line Awhich starts from approximately the point A and curves slightlydownwardly to about the point A where it may extend horizontally for ashort distance such as between the points X and Y, and then graduallyrises throughout its length to its rear point opposite C at the stern.This is of material advantage when the hull is to be used as a seaplaneor glider as it is upon these horizontal surfaces that the hull will besupported just prior to the taking off.

There also may be seen in Fig. 2, the inner chine line B which also runsfrom the point A in the bow, and this likewise extends slightlydownwardly and is co-extensive with the outer chine line C under thestern, so that the outer and inner chines as well as the keel may allterminate at about the same distance from the stern.

By constructing the bottom in this way there are'formed the twooppositely located stabilizers or runners R and R (Fig. 2) which extendsubstantially throughout the length of the boat, that is from a pointjust behind the bow to a distance slightly remote from the stern S as at1-1 (Fig. 1), so that when the boat is travelling at high speed it willbe substantially supported throughout its length on these two parallelrunners and and have substantially horizontal bottom surfaces as may beseen from the several views, and the outer respective sides of therunners coincide with or merge with the outer respective sides of thehull.

The width of each runner may be varied slightly from that shown in theseveral views and likewise the depth of these runners may be changedslightly from that shown without changing from the principles involved.

It also may be here mentioned that the runners form an integral part ofthe bottom of the hull or they might be added to the hull in someinstances, it depending upon the type of boat or hydroairplane. It willalso be noticed that the bow of the boat is relatively blunt while thesides of the boat extend slightly towards each other decreasing the beamtoward the stern. Likewise, the runners R and R decrease or narrow inwidth or cross-section as they approach the stern. It will also beremembered that these runners decrease in depth from the bow towards thestern S or to a point slightly forward of the stern as heretoforementioned.

Referring now for the moment to the resultant trough or channel Textending from the inner adjacent sides of the runners up to the keelline it will be seen that the channel T is substantially of invertedV-section, the bottom surfaces G inclining upwardly from the upper-inneredge of the runners B to the keel line C. However, as may be seen by thevarious sectional Views, this channel gradually flattens out from aboutopposite the section lines 4-4 (Fig. 1) to the point C at the stern Swhere the bottom of the hull is fiat.

This flattening of the channel follows the construction shown in theApel patent heretofore mentioned, that is to wit: #2426304 except inthat instance the keel terminated nearer amidships than in the presentconstruction.

Also in the previous Apel Patent #1,042,636 of October 29, 1912, thebottom of the hull is flattened at the stern. In both of theseaforementhe bottom at stern S, the air being entrapped r and held underthe hull, separating the hull from the surface of the watersubstantially throughout the length of the same.

These two runners form a resultant channel, trough or'tunnel T in thehull and by forming the bow of the boat with the start of the keel lineat a distance above the surface of the Water, the air directl in frontof the bow will be forced into this channel or tunnel and will provide asubstantial air-lift to the hull to thus reduce skin-friction.

Another function, of course, of the runners is to greatly minimize thewetted surface of the hull further reducing the skin-friction andfacilitating the take-off of this hull as used in aircraft.

It will be understood that the depth of the runtioned Apel patents, thebows, however, differ from the present construction in that they were ofa V-typ whereas the present construction is a bow of the invertedV-type.

In Fig. 9, there is shown a slight modification of the tunnelconstruction in that rather than the bottom surface W extending towardsthe keel in angular relation or substantially of an inverted V-cross-section, it will be understood that this bottom wall might beslightly concave and the art of the tunnel gradually decreases until iteventually flattens out at the stern.

If the construction is to be used for a speed boat the upper surface Wof the channel may be made of plyboard and easily curved to the desiredarc while on the other hand, if the boat is to be used for a seaplane orglider it may be more simple to have the inverted V rather than aslightly concave construction.

Referring now to the slight modification and to Figs. 10 and 11, thereis shown the hull havin the stabilizers or runners R-5 and R-- B whichare identical with the runners shown in the former construction with theexception that in this instance the runners are continued at theirforward ends and meet at the forward end of the bow as at R! to thusencircle the bow.

The width of the runners where they meet may be greater or less thanthat illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11; otherwise, it will. be understoodthat the bottom of the hull is the same. The runners and keel and'ehannel all terminate at the same dis a channel between therunners,,thekeelline being tance ahead of the stern as illustrated. inthe preferred form, andthe channel construction and other featuresfollow out the teachings of the preferred form;

'It' Will also be understood that rather than having the channel of aninverted-V-typeit might also be slightly arcuate asillustrated in Fig.9.

A hull constructed as shown in the preferred and modified forms has manyadvantages over other previous forms of construction. As heretoforementioned, the skin friction is reduced to a minimum and the hull whenrunning at a high rate ofspeed is being supported substantially at threepoints. The'air-lift is a great advanta e and may result in supporting agreater part of the weight of the hull. This is of material advantagewhen the hull is to be usedas a seaplane orglider the median line of thechannel and lying. in a plane above'the side walls of the channel,.-thesaid channel-flattening out from the bow to, a plane surface alsosituated slightly ahead of the 'stern and the hull being supported onthe horizontally disposed stabilizers or runners and .the stern when Ibow, the sides ofthe hull'tapering inwardly fromthe point of maximumbeamto the stern, the keel line being above the surface, of the water at thetaking far less power to attain get-away speed I and to rise from thesurface of the water when i the necessary speed is reached;

Likewise when used as a racing hull, it takes less power to propel theboat in the water because the drag or skin friction is greatly reduced.

The boat when starting has a tendency to slightly rise at the bow-and ashigh speedis'attained the boat levels out on practically an even keelthus utilizing the advantage of the air as it passes through the channelbelow the hull while the boat is substantially supported-on its runnersand stem.

. In the drawings I have. illustrated the stern as being relativelyblunt'but it will, of course, be understood that the stern might extendto a point or be rounded off; regardless of whether it-is to be used asa hydroairplane, glider or speed boat hull. a

Finally by shaping th hull as illustrated, that is with arather bluntbow and then slightly decreasing the beam'of the boat, the runners orstabilizers are formed integral with and below the hull and, therefore,not as likely'to be fouled in operation of the craft. I

Man slight changes might be made without departing from the scope of theinvention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: i 1. A hull of the planing type havinga-relatively blunt bow and a tapering after body, the keel line beingabove the surface of the water atthe bow and extending downwardly andterminating at a point ahead of the stern, parallel horizontallydisposed stabilizers or runners and having flat horizontally disposedplaning surfaces extending throughout the greater length of the hull andpositioned on the bottom of the hull, said runners forming aresultantchannel, the keel line being the median line of the channel andlying in a plane above the side Walls of the channel, the said channelflattening outfrom the bow to a point in advance of the stern, and thehull being supported on these horizontally disposed stabilizers orrunners and the stern when the hull is travelling at a relatively highspeed. s

2. A hull of the planing type'having a bow and the sides of the hulltapering inwardly from the bow to the stern, the keel line being abovethe surface of the water'at the bow and extending slightly downwardlyand terminatingat a point slightly ahead of the stern, horizontallydisposed stabilizers or runners and having flat horizontally disposedplaning surfaces extending frombow and extending slightly downwardly andterminating. at a point slightly ahead of the stern, substantiallyparallel horizontally disposed runners and having fiat horizontallydisposed planing surfaces also extending fro-m the bow toa pointslightly ahead of the stern, positioned on the bottom of the hull anddecreasing in depth from a maximumat a point slightl to the rear of thebowto apoint slightly in advance of thestern,

a channel of substantial depth near the bow and tively blunt bow and atapering after body, the

keel line being above the surface of the water at the bow and extendingdownwardly and terminating at a point slightly ahead of the stern, thebottom of the hull provided with a channel, the keel'line being themedian line of the chan: nel and lying in a..plane above the side wallsof the channel, said-channel also flattening out I from the bow to apoint slightly ahead of .the stern, planing means in the form ofhorizontally disposed runners and having flat horizontally disposedplaning surfaces adjacent the lower edges of the channel and positionedon the bottom of the hull and confined between the sides of the hull andextending to a point slightly ahead of the stem to provide planingsurfaces together with the stern whenthe hull is travelling at arelatively high speed.

5. A hull of the planing type having a relative- 1y blunt bow andtapering after body, the keel line being above the surface of the waterat the bow and extending downwardly and terminating at a point slightlyahead of the stern, the bottom of the hull provided with a substantiallyinverted V-shaped channel, said channel also flattening out from the bowto a point slightly ahead of the stern, means in the form ofhorizontally disposed runners and having flat horizontally disposedplaning surfaces adjacent the lower edges of the channel and positionedon the bottom of the hull confined between the sides and extending to apoint slightly ahead of the stern to provide together with the stern,substantially three surfaces on which the hull will be supported whentravelling at a relatively high speed.

6. A hull of the planing type having a relatively blunt bow and taperingafter body, the bottom of the hull provided with a substantially arcuatechannel, the said channel flattening out to a planing surface beneaththe stern, horizontal- 1y disposed planing means having flathorizontally disposed planing surfaces positioned on the bottom of thehull and substantiall co-extensive in length with the said channel,which planing means have their maximum depth with respect. to the top ofthe channel at a point just behind the bow and gradually decrease indepth to a point where they merge with the planing surface beneath thestern of the hull, and said planing means and said stern substantiallysupporting the hull on three surfaces when the hull is travelling at arelatively high rate of speed.

7. A hull of the planing type having a bow and a tapering after bodytogether with a keel line the forward end of which is located above thesurface of the water, a substantially inverted V-shaped channelextending from the bow substantially to the stern, horizontally disposedfiat planing means located on the opposite sides of said channel andextending substantially below the lower edges of said channel, theinner-adjacent sides of the planing means extending substantiallyparallel throughout their length and the outer respective sides of theplaning means being co-extensive throughout their length with theirsides of said hull.

8. In a hull of the planing type two oppositely located runners on thebottom of the hull, the lower surfaces of the runners lying in ahorizontal plane, their inner adjacent sides being substantiallyparallel with each other and their outer respective sides. beingrelatively blunt at their noses, and then tapering from their point ofgreatest width inwardl throughout their length to meet their innerrespective sides.

9. In a hull of the planing type two oppositely located runners on thebottom of the hull, the

lower surfaces of the runners lying in a horizonfrom a point just behindtheir primal ends to their distal ends.

10. A hull of the planing type having a relatively blunt bow and atapering after-body, the keel line being above the surface of the waterat the bow and extending downwardly and terminating at a point ahead ofthe stern, horizontally disposed flat surfaced planing means extendingfrom the bow towards the stern and disposed on the bottom of the hulland opposite each other, the said horizontally disposed fiat surfacedplaning means tapering and decreasing in width and depth to their pointsof termination ahead of the stem, the bottom of the hull provided with asubstantially arcuate central channel and said planing means disposedalong the opposite sides of said channel, the said channel flatteningout from the bow to a point in advance of the stern and the weight ofthe hull being supported on these horizontally disposed flat surfacedplaning means and the stern when the hull is travelling at a high rateof speed.

11. In a seaplane hull a substantially inverted V-shaped bottom,additional means in the form of runners located at the opposite sides ofthe inverted V-shaped bottom, said runners having flat horizontallydisposed planing surfaces, and the said runners extending downwardlyfrom the bow, and then in a horizontal direction lengthwise of the hullabout amidships and then angularly inclined upwardly to merge with theunder surface of the stern, and the said horizontal surfaces of therunners where they extend in a horizontal direction lengthwise of theboat, adapted to assist in the suppont of the hull just before the hullrises from the water.

ARNO A. APEL.

